Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 16, 2020

761 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass Stockyards report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $122.30/cwt +2.78 vs last sale · ≈ $647/hd at 529 lb · 58 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $115.67/cwt -0.50 vs last sale · ≈ $732/hd at 633 lb · 55 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $115.65/cwt -5.75 vs last sale · ≈ $767/hd at 663 lb · 42 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 761 1,272 433
Feeder cattle 649 1,181 408
Slaughter cattle 96 72 25
Replacement cattle 16 19 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers steady 2.00 higher,heifers 2.00-3.00 higher.Slaughter cows and bulls steady.Supply was good with good demand.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 170.00 $170.00 $570 +14.69
350 fancy 350 1 181.00 $181.00 $634 —
355–390 369 5 156.00–170.00 $163.81 $604 -2.37
405–430 value added 418 2 168.00–172.00 $169.94 $710 -0.15
400–429 420 13 142.00–162.00 $156.38 $657 +7.26
453–495 475 14 139.00–158.00 $153.25 $728 +6.85
455–483 value added 475 12 163.00–169.00 $164.12 $780 +1.06
500–545 value added 528 15 150.00–163.00 $155.99 $824 +6.88
510–545 533 6 130.00–149.00 $140.28 $748 +5.27
575 value added 575 1 150.00 $150.00 $862 +2.68
555–599 591 26 128.00–149.00 $135.90 $803 +0.77
610–627 616 9 119.00–133.00 $124.80 $769 -2.11
614–644 value added 629 10 138.00–140.50 $139.28 $876 +2.89
661 value added 661 5 133.50 $133.50 $882 —
655–699 681 14 120.00–129.00 $124.57 $848 -3.83
710–715 712 3 116.00–124.00 $121.32 $864 +0.53
723 value added 723 27 130.25 $130.25 $942 +3.96
755 755 1 122.00 $122.00 $921 +1.18
815–848 843 6 115.00–118.00 $117.52 $991 +1.54
865 865 1 119.00 $119.00 $1,029 +3.00
903–940 910 8 109.00–114.50 $113.61 $1,034 +4.29
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 132.50 $132.50 $371 -17.50
345 345 1 131.00 $131.00 $452 +11.00
350–395 374 7 120.00–149.00 $132.83 $497 -5.17
405–415 409 4 130.00–132.00 $130.76 $535 +1.39
470–495 482 3 130.00–135.00 $131.66 $635 +1.60
555–595 579 5 110.00–125.00 $119.15 $690 +5.18
680 680 1 115.00 $115.00 $782 -0.99

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 131.00 $131.00 $321 —
295 295 1 135.00 $135.00 $398 -3.13
325–345 337 5 125.00–140.00 $128.46 $433 -4.47
350–395 376 9 128.00–137.00 $132.50 $498 +1.73
400–445 422 20 122.00–133.00 $129.94 $548 +4.03
465–495 470 7 119.00–131.00 $127.36 $599 +2.68
507–546 527 39 115.00–124.00 $120.48 $635 +0.96
508–549 value added 534 19 125.00–128.00 $126.05 $673 —
551–586 570 33 116.00–123.00 $118.87 $678 -1.81
600–646 633 55 102.00–120.50 $115.67 $732 -0.50
650–691 658 35 103.00–118.00 $114.58 $754 +1.87
690 value added 690 7 121.00 $121.00 $835 -2.92
717 value added 717 9 119.00 $119.00 $853 —
720 720 2 103.00 $103.00 $742 -9.97
778 value added 778 4 116.50 $116.50 $906 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–285 273 2 120.00–125.00 $122.61 $335 +5.11
320–347 334 6 112.00–122.00 $118.85 $397 +0.47
360–395 386 5 111.00–123.00 $119.61 $462 +5.61
405–445 420 5 103.00–115.00 $110.28 $463 -2.36
455 455 1 115.00 $115.00 $523 +1.21
500–535 511 7 102.00–114.00 $109.59 $560 +3.43
560 560 2 105.00–110.00 $107.50 $602 -2.07
650–675 663 2 91.00–100.00 $95.42 $633 -1.31

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 140.00 $140.00 $448 -9.95
360–398 387 5 141.00–163.00 $157.93 $611 +2.61
405 value added 405 1 165.00 $165.00 $668 +1.46
400–425 411 4 140.00–154.00 $146.56 $602 +3.57
460–495 474 4 136.00–146.00 $139.10 $659 -3.34
505–525 514 7 120.00–140.00 $131.19 $674 +1.81
513–536 value added 525 7 146.00–158.00 $152.32 $800 -2.68
555–556 value added 555 8 142.00–144.00 $143.25 $795 —
565–595 580 2 119.00–128.00 $123.38 $716 -4.92
620–640 630 2 115.00–121.00 $117.95 $743 +1.71
667–690 675 3 115.00–121.00 $118.95 $803 +2.72
705–740 725 3 107.00–112.00 $109.98 $797 +8.96
790 790 1 102.00 $102.00 $806 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 122.50 $122.50 $361 -20.20
380 380 1 137.50 $137.50 $522 +6.50
405–445 425 2 120.00–126.00 $122.86 $522 -12.14
465–490 478 2 130.00–135.00 $132.43 $633 +5.18
530–540 535 2 102.00–113.00 $107.55 $575 -5.05
591 591 3 115.00 $115.00 $680 +3.76
610–645 629 4 98.00–109.00 $103.29 $650 -6.06
665–695 680 2 103.00–110.00 $106.58 $725 +1.12
750 750 1 93.00 $93.00 $698 +3.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1290 1154 80-85% 9 57.00–63.00 $59.95 $692 +3.74
1110–1495 1225 80-85% 21 45.00–55.00 $50.38 $617 —
1240 1240 80-85% 1 36.00 $36.00 $446 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–975 940 85-90% 2 24.00–25.00 $24.52 $230 —
895–1090 989 85-90% 6 39.00–45.00 $42.43 $420 +1.69
940–1080 1030 85-90% 5 47.00–52.00 $48.83 $503 +1.21
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1390–1720 1531 75-80% 4 53.00–55.00 $53.97 $826 +5.27
1385–1840 1613 75-80% 2 56.00–57.00 $56.43 $910 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1880 1458 10 62.00–78.00 $73.40 $1,070 —
1305–2160 1568 17 79.00–88.00 $81.42 $1,277 —
1990 1990 1 91.00 $91.00 $1,811 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1075–1380 1228 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 510.00–680.00 $605.56
1310 1310 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00
1345–1480 1429 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 750.00–790.00 $773.05
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1065 1065 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 520.00 $520.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 660.00 $660.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 730.00 $730.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1215 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 825.00 $825.00 —

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.